leftovers

When it comes to Thanksgiving leftovers, the turkey and cranberry sandwich is a classic, but the duo work just as well layered between two tortillas. These cheesy, addictive quesadillas are a delicious snack or light meal. Use my recipe as a guide and adapt the filling to suit your family's liking.

Stir minced jalapeños and chipotles in adobo with leftover sweet potatoes and slather on the tortillas instead of using cranberry sauce. Substitute monterey jack, brie, or parmesan for the white cheddar cheese. Enjoy with sour cream, sliced avocado, salsa, or alone. Get the quick and easy turkey quesadilla recipe.

Just like sourdough baguettes or homemade bread, challah goes stale after only one day of making it. Rather than chuck the remaining pieces, turn to one of these recipes that uses day-old challah, so all your hard work making and braiding doesn't go to waste. With so many options for using it up, there's no reason to toss any leftover loaf.

1. Slice the leftover pieces, wrap them tightly, and freeze the same day your challah is made to prevent it from becoming stale. Then toast the pieces another day to refresh them.
2. Use the bread to make bread pudding or a strata.
3. Bake croutons to toss in salads or garnish soups.
4. Swap out white bread for challah in a basic french toast recipe.
5. Homemade breadcrumbs couldn't be easier to make; freeze them in a resealable bag and use them at your leisure for meatballs or to bread chicken or fish.
6. Slice the challah and whip up your favorite grilled cheese or panini.

Those darn leftover hamburger and hot dog buns! After every grilling party, it seems like they're fated to be tossed in the corner of the pantry only to be discovered several weeks later as a gnarly, green science experiment. Don't let this happen to your buns. While you can always freeze them for the next grilling party, it might not be an option if the buns are crushed and misshapen. If you're looking for ways to waste not, check out our tips for using up those leftover buns.

• Sub for breakfast toast: Toast the buns for an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich or to make kid-approved cinnamon toast. If you want to get fancy, use a hamburger bun in place of an English muffin in a poached egg and prosciutto breakfast sammy.
• Pack a sandwich for lunch: Cold cuts taste great paired with soft, spongy buns. However, if the buns were left out and are borderline stale, grill them up in a panini. Opt for something savory like cheese and ham, or satisfy your sweet tooth with Nutella and strawberries. Everything always tastes better with cheese, so try making the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
• Incorporate with dinner: Make basic croutons to toss in salads or breadcrumbs to top over mac and cheese, pasta dishes, or casseroles. For a surefire way to clear those buns off the table, make a buttery batch of garlic bread.

What are you doing with your leftover hot dog and hamburger buns?

Even 12 hours of refrigeration will dehydrate rice, leaving it tough, dry, and sticky. There are a few quick methods of reviving it, so it tastes almost as fluffy and light as the day it was made. No matter what your method of preparation, oil and a little liquid are the keys to helping rice retain its moisture and clump-free texture.

• Reheat it in the microwave: For every cup of rice, add a few tablespoons of broth or water. Cover the bowl of rice with plastic wrap or another bowl to create a steaming effect as it reheats.
• Stir-fry it: In a large wok or sauté pan, heat canola or peanut oil on high. Make a fried rice, breaking up the lumps of rice with a wooden spoon so the oil coats the granules evenly.
• Stove-top steam it: In a sauce pan, add the rice with a few tablespoons of butter and a splash of broth or water. Cover the pan and steam the rice on a low flame. Stir occasionally until the rice is heated thoroughly.

Living alone, I've perfected the art of cooking for one — that is, until recently. Thinking of new ways to save on money and time while also sticking to a healthy diet, I now always prep more food than I need for one meal. Keep reading to find out why you should always put a little extra in the pot when cooking.

You'll eat more healthy home-cooked meals: When coming home late, cooking is the last thing on most people's minds. But too many nights of takeout taught me I needed a new game plan. Making a few extra helpings of dinner when I do cook means that regardless of how hectic a night is, I still come home to a nutritious meal I prepped from scratch. It also means I get a nutritious lunch the next day since I don't have to buy takeout while at work. If cooking is still new to you, try our tips for making healthy meals at home.

You'll have more time to work out: If I have a laundry list of things to do during the week like grocery shop or cook, the first things to suffer is my exercise time, which seems to be a common thread amongst all my friends. I've now gotten into a Sunday habit of making a big one-pot meal or roasting a chicken that I can eat throughout the week. With less time spent cooking, grocery shopping, and cleaning up during the workweek, I've freed up more time for evening gym sessions. Here are some recipes for healthy one-pot meals that taste better the next day, and five recipes to make from leftover roasted chicken.

Are you a fan of leftovers? If not, check out these tips for cooking fast, healthy meals on the daily.

Every year I inevitably buy too many bags of fresh cranberries in an effort to prepare for any potential Thanksgiving problems. I end up with way too many cranberries and nothing to do with them. But just because Thanksgiving is over doesn't mean we can't still appreciate that tart little berry, right? Fresh cranberries typically appear in grocery stores from October through December. That gives us three whole months to enjoy them! So before you toss that poor bag of fresh cranberries, think outside the box a little and use them up! From cranberry vodka to cranberry sorbet (or cranberry sorbet topped with cranberry vodka – how's that for cranberry appreciation?), here are five things to do with cranberries, even when it's not Thanksgiving.

• Keep it simple and whip up a zesty cranberry sauce (like the one you'd serve at Thanksgiving) but instead of serving it with turkey, spread it on toast or crepes!
• Make your own cranberry vodka and serve it at your next cocktail party! Your guests will be beyond impressed.

Keep on reading for more!

I hate the nagging feeling that I get when I open my fridge to discover far too many random odds and ends: nubs of cheese, leftover scrambled eggs, chopped herbs, bits of sausage or ham. After all, there's nothing worse than watching food go to waste. Find out what I do to solve this problem after the jump.

Does August's back-to-school mode have you in the mood for bringing your lunch to work? Good idea: not only will you be saving money, but you'll also be making healthier options while you're at it.

If you're ready to brown-bag it, bringing leftovers can be the perfect solution. Making a little extra when cooking dinner is a great time-saver; no need to carve out extra time to make a sandwich when you've already got a meal waiting in the pan, and you don't need to spend extra time planning out a lunch menu before you go shopping. But using leftovers for lunch doesn't mean that there's no preplanning required. Making sure you are safely and conveniently storing leftovers tonight means a happy, healthy lunch for tomorrow, so check out these tips for bringing leftovers as lunch.

Leftover prep. That huge dish of lasagna shouldn't stay out on your counter for too long. You should pack away your food (in convenient lunch portions if it's a big batch) within two hours at room temperature — but note that since Summer days can mean hot kitchens that you should refrigerate leftovers within an hour if the temps reach 90 degrees or more.

Read on for more tips on how to safely and easily bring leftovers at work.